Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today let’s recognize God’s correlation of love and obedience.

Today’s first scripture, Deuteronomy 30:19‭-‬20 (NLT), says…
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

And in today’s second scripture, John 15:9‭-‬12 (NLT), Jesus said…
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

Consider…
There’s a hymn I remember regularly singing in chapel during my Highschool years. It’s lyrics include..
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And with all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey

After reading today’s scriptures, I would update the lyrics to say love and obey.

It’s good and appropriate to trust God, because He’s trustworthy. However, trustworthiness should not be a prerequisite for obedience.

According to Oxford Languages, to obey means…

• comply with the command, direction, or request of (a person or a law); submit to the authority of.
• carry out (a command or instruction).
• behave in accordance with (a general principle, natural law, etc.).

Nowhere in those definitions do we see trust as a condition of obeying. In fairness, we don’t see love as a prerequisite either.

Suffice to say, we should obey God because He’s God!

However, God makes it clear that He wants us to love and obey Him. Why is that? I believe a couple of reasons maybe…

• 1 John 5:3 (NLT), which explains…Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
• And 1 John 5:21 (NLT), which exhorts…Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

I believe God couples love and obedience because it easily ensures exclusivity in our relationship. If we stay focused on knowing and obeying what God requires, we should have no time to pursue our sinful desires. Or when we are committed to pleasing Him, there’s no time to be letting sin win.

God knows obedience, separate from love, is based out of fear. God doesn’t want terrified slaves who simply obey the master. No, our Heavenly Father wants us to recognize ourselves as His children. Romans 8:15‭-‬16 (NLT) explains…
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

God calls us His children out of love. 1 John 3:1‭ (NLT) explains…
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.

And according to 1 Peter 1:14‭-‬16 (NLT) God has an expectation of obedience from His children. It admonishes…
So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Obedience is part of God’s love language. In John 14:21 (NLT),
Jesus explains…
Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

The Holy Spirit keeps emphasizing, with God love and obedience go hand in hand.

As an earthly father, I totally get this. You see when my children were growing up, I loved them and longed to lavish them with blessings. However, I also wanted them to love and obey me. You see, blessing them was easy when they were doing what I wanted them to do.

My hope was because they loved me, they would obey me and because I loved them I would only want them to do God honoring things. As their father my goals were to…

• Love them
• Provide for them
• Protect them
• Live a loving and obedient life in Christ before them
• Teach them to love and obey God for themselves

I realized if showed and taught my children how to love God and do things His way, they would discover Joshua 1:7‭-‬9 (NLT)
could be applicable to them too…
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I hoped if my children obeyed all the instructions their earthly father gave them, then their Heavenly Father would give them success, courage and His omnipresence.

I get it now. I wanted my children to love me because I first loved them (1 John 4:19). And I wanted them to obey me so they could experience the good plans for hope and the future I know God has for them (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

That hope and future is living eternally with Him.

The same thing I desired as an earthly father is true to an infinitely greater magnitude with our Heavenly Father for you and me.

Today, decide to…

Love and obey
For there’s no other way
To live eternally with Jesus
Than to love and obey

Love and obey
For there’s no other way
To live vicariously in Jesus
Than to love and obey

Love and obey
For there’s no other way
To live abundantly through Jesus
Than to love and obey

Love and obey, it’s God’s only way

Today’s song is…
One Pure And Holy Passion

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)